Past Editions of “LCD TV Matters” - Veritas et Visus

LCD TV Association LCD TV Matters May 2012
From the professor…
by Alfred Poor
Alfred Poor is the editor and publisher of “HDTV Almanac”, a free daily service of
news and commentary on the HDTV, digital television, and home entertainment
electronics markets: http://hdtvprofessor.com/HDTVAlmanac. This article comprises
three recent entries about the TV industry, providing some insights into just how
diverse and continuously interesting the market has become; still not without
some substantial problems.
Panasonic Dozen-Foot Diagonal Display
Once again, Panasonic has moved the goalposts in the “Mine Is Bigger than Yours”
contest. The latest is a 145-inch diagonal plasma television; that’s more than 12 feet
from corner to corner. According to a news report by Tech-On, the behemoth was a
joint effort with NHK (Japan Broadcasting System) and was produced in one of
Panasonic’s idle plasma panel fabrication lines. It’s not a big surprise that NHK is involved, because they have
been at the forefront of higher-than-1080p resolutions for a long time.
There are several points of interest about this demonstration. First and foremost is the resolution; the panel has
7,680 by 4,320 pixels. I’ve done the math for you already, and that is the equivalent of sixteen 1080p resolution
panels tiled together. The tiled panels would be only about 36-inches diagonal apiece, which is on the small size
for current plasma products. As a result, the display has a pixel pitch of 60 ppi, which is smaller than a typical 42inch
plasma. This means that each sub-pixel is smaller and has less surface area for phosphors, which would
mean that the panel can emit less light per pixel. This is one of the limitations of plasma technology.
One detail that is a surprise is that Panasonic engineers have come up with a way to divide up the scanning
signals for these panels. Apparently they scan multiple horizontal lines at the same time, in order to refresh the
4,320 lines without flickering.
Finally, the article quotes Yoshio Ito, director of Display Devices Business Group and senior vice president at AVC
Network Co, Panasonic: “It is possible to experience video with realistic sensations from a distance of 1.6 meters,
which is the optimal viewing distance.” That’s just over five feet, folks. (That’s just about the distance that I’d
recommend for a 36-inch 1080p screen, which would have the same pixel size.) So I don’t want to hear any more
complaints when I recommend a bigger screen for your viewing distance; here’s the SVP from Panasonic saying
that five feet from a 12-foot diagonal screen is “optimal.”
IKEA Television: What Gives?
Have you seen the new IKEA Uppleva television? It apparently is designed to make it easy for consumers to
choose a new HDTV that fits in with their Scandinavian decor. The set hasn’t been released in this country yet, so
we don’t know what the price will be. Without this detail, it’s hard to assess the value of this new product, but it
clearly marks some interesting changes in the market.
First, if you don’t think that the LCD TV has reached the commodity stage, this should convince you. Here’s a
television branded not by any consumer electronics giant, but a furniture maker. This also conveys a message that
this set will be as easy to install and use as the IKEA furniture (or with any luck, even easier). It bundles everything
for you, including a Blu-ray player.
It is also interesting that a furniture maker should decide to market its own TV. I remember when Magnavox made
a big deal about the furniture surrounding its massive cathode ray tube console sets, but I can’t remember another
case where that was turned around. And you don’t have to worry about being overwhelmed by a lot of choices.
The Uplevva comes in three sizes; that’s it. You don’t have to deal with a lot of the specifications that you might
encounter in an electronics store, such as LCD vs. plasma TV, or whether the screen is 120 Hz or not, if it
supports 3D TV, or how the contrast ratio compares. Just pick the television that fits your space and you’re good
to go.
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